Sumitomo-invested 1.32 GW power plant to start operations next August

The 1.32 GW Van Phong 1 coal-fired power plant, invested by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, is set to begin commercial operations in August 2023.

The $2.58 billion project is being developed in Vietnam’s central province of Khanh Hoa on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis by Van Phong Power Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corp.

The project’s first generator is slated to start commercial operations next August, while the second will follow in December 2023, according to the subsidiary.

The power generated by the plant will be transferred to the national grid across 500 kV transmission lines from the onsite Van Phong switchyard, which is already available for use. The plant’s electricity output will be sold to state-owned utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

The power plant is located within the Van Phong Special Administrative-Economic Zone (SAEZ) in Khanh Hoa. A consortium of four companies, namely Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporations, IHI Corporation, CTCI Corporation, and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project in August 2019.

In another development, a new EPC contractor will be selected for the 1,200 MW Long Phu 1 thermal power plant project in the Mekong province of Soc Trang. State-run Petrovietnam is the project owner and developer.

The former EPC contractor was Power Machines. The Russian company announced an end to the contract in February 2019 after the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions against it in January 2018.

The project’s management unit has rescheduled the project’s development stages and expects completion in 2026.

Petrovietnam has called on other companies to take over the EPC contract, with three contractors showing an interest, according to the oil and gas group.

Meanwhile, in the north, the Petrovietnam-invested 1.2GW Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant in Thai Binh province has provided more than 199 megawatts-hour this year during its trial run.

The plant’s first generator is expected to start commercial operations during the final days of this year, while the second generator will be approved to do so next month.